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TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"I would like a chance to ____ my mistake." Fill in the blank. A. erect B. rectangle C. rectify D. retract Ａの意味は「建てる」、Ｂは「長方形」で、動詞ですらありません。Ｄは「取り消す」ですが、一度間違ってしまったものを取り消せませんのでふさわしくありません。残るＣが「正す」という意味で正解です。 Do more TOEIC practice here!...
Trivia of the Week: Work Out
“Heading to the gym? Are you going to work out?” “No, I work in the cake shop next to the gym.” “Work” means to do a job for money, or to perform a task that takes effort. Add “out” afterwards and the meaning changes completely. “Work out” means to exercise for the...
Idiom of the Week: Dressed to Kill
“Do I look okay in this dress for the party?” “Better than okay, you’re dressed to kill!” “Dressed to kill” doesn’t literally mean wearing clothes appropriate for murder. It’s really just “dressed to impress” or “very well dressed”. 「パーティーに着るドレス、これで大丈夫かな？」...
Word of the Week: Plenty
“Could I perhaps borrow an umbrella?” “Sure! We have plenty!” Plenty is more than enough. If there is plenty of something, there is enough for everyone who needs it, plus some extra. “Make sure there’s plenty of soda for the party tomorrow.” (We don’t want the party...
Picture of the Week: Hippo
Do you imagine the hippopotamus as a fat, lazy animal? They are actually very aggressive and dangerous, although they eat only plants. Their closest relative is the whale....
Phrase of the Week: I Can Tell
“Then look through the window on the oven door to see if it’s done.” “How can you tell if it’s done?” “I have lived with dogs my whole life, so I can tell how they feel from their body language.” “Tell” usually means to give information by speaking, but it can also...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
“If you come outside our regular hours, we will have to take an extra fee.” Find the mistake. A. outside B. regular C. have to take D. extra fee 「営業時間外にお越しの際は追加料金をいただきます。」 間違いはどこでしょうか？ お金を払ってもらう場合、 take と言えなくはないですが、あまり良いイメージではありません。「請求する」という意味の charge...
Trivia of the Week: Comb Bomb Tomb
“John was combing is hair when the bomb went off, killing him. Now he’s buried in this tomb.” This strange and silly story demonstrates how weird English pronunciation can be sometimes. The words “comb”, “bomb” and “tomb” look almost the same. Only one letter is...
Idiom of the Week: Long Time No See
“Hi, Bob, long time no see!” “Yeah, I guess the last time was at the Jill’s wedding!” “Long time no see” is a cute greeting to use when you haven’t seen someone in a long time. It’s not really grammatically correct: “It’s been a long time and I have not seen you.”...
Word of the Week: Mostly
“The yard was mostly covered with snow, but the grass showed in a few places.” “Mostly” can be used in some of the same places as “almost”. In the sentence above, you can use either word. However, you could not use “almost” in this sentence: “My cat is mostly black,...
